The Upper Iowa men's basketball team will return home for a pair of NSIC matchups this weekend. After traveling to Minnesota last weekend for a pair of games, the Peacocks will once again hit the floor in Dorman to face the UMary Marauders on Friday night, and then take on the Minot State Beavers on Saturday. UIU will tipoff against UMary at 7:30pm, and Saturday's tilt is scheduled to start at 5:30pm.

Last weekend, the Peacocks headed North to Minnesota to meet the St. Cloud State Huskies and the UM Duluth Bulldogs. UIU matched up with the Huskies on Friday and despite shooting 55.4 percent from the field, fell to SCSU 74-92. The Peacocks trailed by only one point going into the half but allowed the Huskies to knock down 10 three-pointers in the second half and establish control of the game.

UIU took on the UM Duluth Bulldogs in their Saturday night matchup but couldn't close the door on the Bulldogs in the second half. The two sides went into the half knotted up at 34 points each but UMD's 60.7 second-half field goal percentage allowed them to establish a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game. UIU's Jareese Williams (13) and Cade Moritz (12) finished as the top scorers for the Peacocks with Jackson Joens and Chris Olson adding nine points each.

All six of the Peacock's wins this season have come in games where they have scored 80 or more points; Upper Iowa's record when scoring 79 points or less is 0-10. Both UMary and Minot currently sit at the bottom of the NSIC in points per game with 70.2 points per game. However, UMary ranks third in the conference in scoring defense, allowing an average of 69.7 points to opponents.

Upper Iowa's offense has relied on the strength of their three-point game to drive the scoring efforts this season. The Peacock's three-point offense whose 11.8 made three-pointers per game is currently the best in the NSIC and ranks 11^th in the nation. Jareese Williams leads Upper Iowa with 61 made three pointers, which ranks fourth in the NSIC and in Division II's top 50.

About the Opponents…

UMary Marauders… The Marauders come to Fayette after winning three of their last four, boosting their record to 10-12 on the year and 7-9 against conference opponents. Four players on the Marauders roster are averaging in double figures this season: Jaylen White (14.0), Matthew Kreklow (12.0), Tom Kubank (11.9), and Connor Hellebust (10.1). Mary's defense ranks third in the NSIC this season after allowing just 68.2 points
per game to opponents. However, their three-point defense ranks in the bottom half, allowing opponents to knocked down 37 percent of their shots from beyond the arc which bodes well for UIU's long-range shooters.

Minot State Beavers… The Beavers have had their share of troubles this year, posting a 10-15 overall record but have gone just 5-11 in the NSIC. Minot state will bring three players whose point per game average has reached double figures; David Akibo (19.2), Max Cody (13.5), and Kyle Beisch (13.5). The Peacocks will need to slow down Akibo as the 6-7 Englishman has recorded seven double-doubles this season including two thirty-point performances.

The Series…

Vs. UMary… The Peacocks got the best of the Marauders last season in a 92-86 overtime win away from home. Last year's victory brought the all-time series record to 9-5 in the Peacocks' favor with Upper Iowa taking six of the last seven from UMary.

Vs. Minot State… Historically, the Peacocks have been able to find success against the Beavers, recording an all-time series record of 8-2 against Minot. Upper Iowa topped the Beavers 99-87 last year during the regular season but were bounced from the NSIC Tournament after falling to Minot 71-91.

Both games this weekend can be viewed at uiupeacocks.com/live on a live webcast with live stats available as well as on the NSIC channel through Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple and Android tvs. The games will also be aired locally on KCRG-TV with Friday's matchup against the Marauders being aired on 9.3 and Saturday against the Beavers will be shown on 9.2.